Stickhorse Cowgirl V: As Iron Sharpens Iron

I was just reading Brin at messythrillinglife and pondering her last thought of hope in the new year to come after a particularly difficult year. If you have never read Brin's blog, I really encourage you to peruse her archives. "C" and I have often marveled at the depth, wisdom and insight that could come from a much younger woman! I think anyone who favors a Judeo-Christian moral tradition (by this I refer to how Christianity holds Old Testament teachings in reverance),could glean much from her writing. There is some really meaty material there--especially her Monday Moments!! I love her vintage decorating style too --and she will soon be writing an online column for AOL! She will be great!


Life is really busy round here right now. I'm back at work after Christmas break, but still helping to tend the home of eldest daughter who is suffering from severe pregnancy complications. She has a condition known as Hyperemesis Gravidarum, and I also suffered from it, especially with my last pregnancy years ago. Many of us have suffered the normal queasiness and nausea associated with pregnancy, but an unfortunate few suffer a severe form that is disabling and life threatening. A home health nurse informed me that many of their patients are women suffering this terrible form of nausea and often require intraveneous liquids to prevent dehydration (my daughter required an iv picc line for 8 weeks). Over 42,000 women are hospitalized each year due to this condition. My mother, aunt, sister and I all suffered this more severe form and would like to help inform the sometimes unsympathetic public (usually due to ignorance, even astonishingly in the medical community) regarding this disorder. Please go to www.hyperemesis.org to learn more about this condition, and thereby perhaps helping and encouraging other women who you know who may suffer from it. I had my share of nausea for my first two pregnancies, but it was the last one that just about did me in! I was so debilitated by relentless nausea for the entire term, I decided then and there I was RETIRED from pregnancy! My daughter says this will be it for her too!



Although I'm a little weary I do love spending time with and cooking for my grandkids, and plan to freeze some meals for them for the time when "C" and I are gone hoping to sail our cares away! I would like to share some of these recipes with you! Hubby can cope with missing me by stepping into my shoes and cooking up some of those frozen home-cooked dinners for the grandkids! Son-in-law's father is ill and he is in the midst of helping to care for his parent's needs, so additional help is appreciated. "Ten days? Ten days?", hubby exclaimed! "You'll be gone for ten days?" I'm certain they can get by without me for ten days. Maybe even I need to realize that!


Ive been thinking for some time about the amazing talent in the blogging community and how I could share with others what wonderful writers are out there! Often I decide not to write, because I put such pressure on myself to produce something I hope is worth reading. Not every post can be a prize-winning essay and I don't think that is really the purpose of blogging. It's simply sharing a little bit of yourself everyday - some good, some bad, but always real and something will be meaningful to somebody. I love the blogs I visit, but we know that sometimes there will be a particular post that really "grabs" you and needs to be shared with others. I think we all write a post like that sometimes; just not everyday! So I have stored up a little list of really great posts that others have written, and I hope to forward those on to you in the coming year.


On a sad note, I lost my joyous little dog, Wendy, two days after Christmas. While she was outside with my husband and son, she darted out into the street and was struck by a car. We had to have her put to sleep that day. This followed weeks of begging hubby and son to put up the new fencing materials we recently got from "C". They were regretful and sad, but she is still gone. Need I say more how I feel about that? She had a Wheaten terrier's typical joye de vivre and charmed us all. Perhaps later I will write a post about her. Not just yet. When C and I get back from the cruise, I plan to get another terrier mix (a rescue dog for sure), after the new fence is put up! Not as a replacement for Wendy, for who could ever replace her, but a new pet I can love for her own self and a companion for Dudley, our other dog, who grieves her loss as well.

Recently as I was lamenting my losses to eldest daugher; she in the midst of her suffering reminded me that I have also enjoyed the marriage celebrations of two children and the birth of a precious new grandson. There is also the hope of the impending birth of this new grandchild in a few months, so that really helped me get things in perspective. Wishing you all a prosperous and blessed New Year full of hope and joy! V.